Wire-fence machine



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

F. A. WILLIAMS WIRE FENCE MACHINE.

No. 560,666. Patented May 26, 1896.

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V 2 S h eetssheet 2. F. A. WILLIAMS. WIRE FENCE MACHINE (No Mo ed May 26 UNITED STATES I OFFICE.

FRANK 'A. WILLIAMS, or HOLLEY, NEW YORK, Assieivonor ONE-HALF TO EDWARD 'r. LAMB, or BATAVIA, NEW YORK.

WIRE-FENCE MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 560,666, dated May 26, 1896. Application filed June 29, 1894. Serial No. 516,093- (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK A. WILLIAMs, of Holley, in the county of Orleans and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in VVire-Fence Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the drawings accompanying this application.

My improvement relates to that class of wire-fence machines in which 'the twisters that carry the spools of filling-wires are moved alternately back and forth by re versely-moving slides, so as to connect with the diiferent gear-wheels by which the twisters are rotated,

The invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, and embraced in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine and a portion of fence it is in the act of weaving. Fig. 2 is an elevation at right angles to Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrow in the last-named figure. Fig. 3 is an elevation, on an enlarged scale, of one pair of twister-slides, the gearwheel with which they connect, the operatingslides, and the supporting-framework. Fig. 4 is a horizontal cross-section in line a; w of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a portion of one of the twister-slides and acorrespending portion of the shifter for operating it, the parts being separated. Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the gears and one of the twister-slides connected therewith. Fig. 7 is a detail view showing one of the rollers forretaining the shifting slide in place.

A indicates the frame of the machine, consistin g of a standard mounted on trucks which are drawn along on a platform, the latter being of ordinary form and not shown in the drawings. The machine isdesigned for building wire fence in the field after the longitudinal wires a a have been attached to the posts.

B B B are a series of spur-gears mounted in the frame, all engaging together and driven by a bevel-pinion O, which engages with a bevel-rim Z) on one of the gears 33. By this means simultaneous and equal action is given to all of the gears. erated by a crank o.

C C are the twister-slides, the same being so arranged as to slide from the face of one gear-wheel to another and there be rotated to produce the twisting of the filling-wires (Z d around the longitudinal wires a a. The spools f f of filling-wires are held by Mack ets g g, attached to the faces of the twisterslides in the usual way.

D D are the reversely-operating slides at the sides of the machine. They are connected at the top by a lever h, by which when one is thrown up the other is thrown down. They are held to the main frame by headed bolts 71 1', which pass through. slots jj of the slides, or by any other suitable arrangement. One of the slides is operated byahandle 70. These The bevel-pinion is opslides are connected with the twister-slides O C by means of shifting-arms E E, seem as the operating-slides are thrown up and down the twister-slides are thrown with them.

The connection between the shifters and the twister-slides is of peculiar construction, as follows: The face of each gear-wheel B is provided with a central guide Z, consisting of a rib with square edges, which projects outward, and through which and the wheel is made a central passage for the longitudinal fence-wire. On each side of the center guide Zis also a side guide m with a space between the two sufficient to receive the twister-slide. The twister-slide C is provided with a square inner edge to run against the square edge of the center guide Z. The opposite or outer edge has on its back side a thin flange '22., that runs in a corresponding groove of the outer guide m. The inner edge of the twister-slide also has lugs 0 0, which projectover and ride outside the edge of the center guide Z, or instead of these lugs it may have a continuous flange which overlaps the edge of the center guide. In these lugs or in this continuous flange are attached friction-rollers pp, which move with the twister-slide in passing from one gear to another and roll on the face of the guide. In the inner flange of the outer of the twister-slide runs. This construction is shown most clearly in Fig. (3. The object of these two sets of friction-rollers is to relieve the friction of the twister-slide in moving from one gear-wheel to another, produced by the great inward strain. The inward strain is caused by the tense action of the filling-wires in being coiled around the longitudinal wires and is very great, and the tendency is to cramp the twister-slides in their sockets. The rollers on opposite sides counteract this cramping action. The outer face of each twister-slide O is provided with two open notches or seats 1' 0', cut concentrically with the gear-wheel, and in these open curved notches fit segmental arms 8 s, forming part of the shifter E, said arms being also concentric with the gear-wheel. This furnishes a connection between the shifter and twisterslide by which the latter is moved up and down from one wheel to another by the shifter, and it also allows the twister-slide to rotate with the gear-wheel. Each of the shifter-arms sis provided on its inner side with an offset concentric rib s, which forms the connection entering the groove 1' of the twister-slide, the arm itself resting outside the slide and allowing the slide to rotate past the arm.

To retain the two operating-slides D D in square position and to prevent them from being displaced by any strain, thereby tending to separate the arms 3 s from the notches M', the several shifters on each side are connected by straight bars 75 t, and at intervals, in line with the junction of the gear-wheels, are standards it u, attached to the main frame, extending outward and bent over and pro-' vided with friction-rollers '11 1 bearing on top of said bars t If. These rollers hold the slides down to place and lessen the friction.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a wire-fence machine, the combination of reversely-acting operating-slides D D, the shifters E E attached thereto and provided with segmental arms 5 s, the sliding twisterslides O 0 provided with open curved notches 0- a in which the segmental arms rest, and the gear-wheels B 13 provided with suitable guides to hold the twister-slides, as shown and described and for the purpose specified.

2. In a wire-fence machine, the combination of the gears B B provided with the guides Zm m on their faces, the twister-slides O G resting between the guides and provided with the flanges n and lugs 0 0, the two sets of friction-rollers q q and 1) p for holding the twister-slides in place against lateral strain, and means for operating the twister-slides, as shown and described and for the purpose specified.

3. In a wire-fence machine, the combination of the reversely-acting operating-slides D D, the shifters E E attached thereto, the bars 21 t connecting the shifters, and the rollers o *0 attached to standards it a and bearing on the bars, as shown and described and for the purpose specified.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK A. \VILLIAMS.

Vitnesses:

JAMEs POTTER, G. N. BOWMAN. 

